Horseshoes come in a variety of size and shapes depending on the type of horse and the activity for which the horse is to be engaged. Generally, horseshoes are U-shaped and conform to the circumference of the hoof with two branches emanating from the toe area and projecting beyond the heel. Some of the early horseshoes were made out of iron and were forged to fit the varying sizes and shapes of the horses' hooves. A shoe is then nailed onto each hoof. Every three to five weeks due to the growth of the horse hoof, the shoe is removed and the foot trimmed. The shoe can be reused or reset each time until it is worn out at which time it is replaced with a new shoe. Although, iron or metal horseshoes offer protection to the horse's foot, they offer little or no absorption of shock and concussion when the horse moves, especially when carrying a rider. Furthermore, metal horseshoes wear smooth and provide little traction on many surfaces.
In recent years, horseshoes of various plastics and elastomers have been tried. Although, they increase the absorption of shock and concussion, they failed to offer proper protection to the horse's hoof because of their lack of stiffness, shapeability, and durability. Typically, the better the particular material performed as a shock absorber, the worse its wear characteristics. Further, these shoes have typically worn smooth and as a result traction or grip is lost.
There have been attempts to incorporate horseshoe pads as an integral part of the metal horseshoe. Generally, these are plastic or leather pads, which are attached to the top part of the horseshoe. While, having the pad between the horse's hoof and the metal horseshoe provided some absorption of the shock and concussion forces, in general, such a pad would weaken the overall stability of the shoe.
It is, therefore, desirable to have a horseshoe with a gripping device which improves the grip between a horse's hoof and the contacting surface while at the same time functioning to prevent the horse's hoof from sliding on the contacting surface, to prevent the horse's hoof from winging in or paddling out in order that the hoof travels in a straight line, and spreading shock evenly taking the pressure off the wall of the hoof.